Game modes

There are two game modes in Build-a-lot: career mode and casual mode. In career mode, the object is to complete levels in which the player is assigned a set of tasks. In casual mode, the object is to meet a cash balance goal in the shortest time possible.

Career mode

In career mode, the player's object is to complete a set of tasks in an individual game scenario, or "level". After doing so, they can advance to the next scenario. Once a level is completed, that level is available for play to that player on a continuing basis. Career mode has a total of thirty-five different levels, which are grouped together in eight different "neighborhoods" of between three and five levels. Each "neighborhood" has a different map character, number of lots, and different mayor. The neighborhoods advance in terms of game complexity. New structures become available at higher levels, and goals become more difficult.

Meadow Dale is the tutorial neighborhood, in which the player is given the most basic tasks and is provided on-screen instructions for the game. Levels 1, 2 and 3 are played in this neighborhood. The "new" Mayor of Meadow Dale is Jennifer Russell.

Pleasant Valley is the first regular game neighborhood. Levels 4, 5 and 6 are played in this neighborhood. The Mayor of Pleasant Valley is Beatrice Hudson, who in the game is revealed to be a native of New England.

River Glen contains levels 7, 8, 9 and 10. The Mayor of River Glen is Patrick O'Brien.

Lakeside is the setting for levels 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 and its mayor is the bald Frank Crawford.

Granite Springs is the setting for levels 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 and its mayor is the blonde Annie Stanton. It's a western-style mountain community.

Summit Ridge is the penultimate neighborhood, where levels 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30 are played. Summit Ridge is modeled as a skiing community, a laJackson Hole or Aspen, Colorado. The Mayor of Summit Ridge is Hans Stallmire.

Palm Grove is the final neighborhood, where levels 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35 are played. The Mayor of Palm Grove is Vince Danner, who claims to have been a "Hollywood Superstar". Palm Grove is an island community (a laHawaii), as Danner refers to the "Mainland".

Casual mode

In casual mode, the player's goal in each level is solely monetary—reaching a predetermined level of cash. The player may achieve that goal using any strategy, and is not required to build any particular house or building. However, in each casual mode game, the player is given only a starting cache of cash, workers, and materials. Other than the Rambler blueprint, the player must purchase the blueprint for any house or building the player would like to build.

Only six neighborhoods are available for play in casual mode, as opposed to the eight neighborhoods in career mode. The six neighborhoods available in casual mode are the last six neighborhoods in career mode.

River Glen - The goal of River Glen in casual mode is $1,000,000. The player begins with $100,000 in cash, four workers, and 500 materials.

Evergreen Park - The goal of Evergreen Park in casual mode is $2,500,000. The player again begins with $100,000 in cash, four workers, and 500 materials.

Lakeside - The goal of Lakeside in casual mode is $5,000,000. The player begins with $150,000 in cash, six workers and 750 materials.

Granite Springs - The goal of Granite Springs in casual mode is $10,000,000. The player again (as in Lakeside) begins with $150,000 in cash, six workers and 750 materials.

Summit Ridge - The goal of Summit Ridge in casual mode is $25,000,000. The player begins with $250,000 in cash, eight workers, and 1,000 materials. There are eighteen total lots in the Summit Ridge neighborhood in casual mode. At the start of a casual mode game, one lot is occupied by an unowned Colonial, two lots are occupied by unowned Tudors, two lots are occupied by unowned Estates, one lot is occupied by an unowned Castle, and twelve lots are empty lots owned by the player. One of the premium lots is occupied by the unowned Castle, and the other is occupied one of the unowned Estates.

Palm Grove - The goal of Palm Grove in casual mode in $50,000,000. As in Summit Ridge, the player begins with $250,000 in cash, eight workers, and 1,000 materials.

House types

In Build-a-lot, there are six types of houses that can be built:

The Rambler is the lowest class house, a small-one story ranch-style house. The Rambler "costs" 75 materials to build, and requires only one worker to build. A rambler generates the lowest amount of rental income and sells at the lowest price in the game. In the casual mode of the game, the Rambler blueprint is provided to the player at the beginning of play.

The Colonial is the second class of house. It is in the style of a Colonial house. The Colonial "costs" 150 materials to build and requires two workers to build. In the Casual mode of the game, a player must purchase the Colonial blueprint, costing $30,000.

The Tudor is the third class of house and is in the style of a modern Tudor style. A Tudor "costs" 300 materials and requires three workers to build. In the Casual mode of the game, a player must purchase the Tudor blueprint for $60,000.

The Estate is the fourth class of house, a neoclassic or Greek revival estate home. An Estate "costs" 600 materials and requires five workers to build. The Estate home is often a critical building block of casual game strategy at higher levels. In the casual mode of the game, a player must purchase the Estate blueprint for $120,000.

The Mansion is the fifth class of house. It is in the style of an Americanmansion. A Mansion "costs" 1200 materials and requires seven workers to build. In the casual mode of the game, a player must purchase the Mansion blueprint, costing $240,000.

The Castle is the largest house in the game and is in the Disney style castle in Disneyland. A Castle "costs" 2500 materials and requires nine workers to build. In the casual mode of the game, a player must purchase the Castle blueprint ($500,000).

Building types

In addition to houses, players can build commercial buildings that assist them in various aspects of the game. These buildings come in two basic types:

Functional Buildings

Cultural Buildings

Functional buildings

Functional buildings assist the player in some aspect of completing a level or achieving a monetary goal, for example increasing revenue by generating interest (the Bank), or speeding up construction or repairs (the Workshop). There are three functional buildings: the Sawmill, the Workshop, and the Bank.

In casual mode, each of the blueprints for the functional buildings costs $75,000.

Speeds up the construction, upgrading, and repair of houses and buildings

Allows players to perform "inspections" that serve to prevent houses from needing repairs. A Workshop "costs" 900 materials and three workers to build.

In the casual mode of the game, the Workshop is important, as it allows players to speed up the construction and upgrading of houses, reducing the time necessary to generate cash.

There is no benefit for having multiple workshops.

The Bank has two functions:

Generates interest on the amount of money in the player's account, at the rate of 10% per interest period

If "donated", it does not generate interest, but prevents a player from being responsible for paying property taxes.

Having multiple banks increases the amount of money generated for the player. However, the amount of interest earned does not increase on a linear basis, i.e., each Bank will not generate 10% interest on the player's money. Instead, the game acts to distribute the player's money evenly in each Bank, allowing a greater total rate of interest in the Banks, so there is an overall compound interest effect. As an example, if the player has a total cash balance of $1,000,000 and two Banks, $500,000 will be deposited in each Bank. The first Bank would generate 6% ($60,000) in interest, raising the total cash amount to $1,060,000. The second Bank would generate 6% interest ($63,600) on half that amount ($530,000) to raise the total amount in the player's account to $1,102,500. If the player has three Banks rather than two, each bank generates 4% interest on the player's money. Accordingly, while the difference between one Bank and two Banks is substantial in that two Banks will produce more than 20% more interest than one Bank on its own, the addition of a third Bank does not appreciably add to the interest generated and takes up funds that could otherwise be used for house construction.

CostMart is a building unlocked if the player completes all levels of the career mode of the game at a "high efficiency" or "star" level. It may be used in re-playing levels of the career mode, and is available during the casual mode of the game.

Cultural buildings

Cultural buildings are relevant to the career mode of the game, and are frequently the goals of particular levels. For example, in level six, a player must buy the blueprint for and build a post office as goal to complete the level. Examples of cultural buildings include the Library, the Post Office, the Surf Shop, the Cinema, and the Western Museum.

Reception & awards

Build-a-lot was the #1 Action/Arcade game of 2007 on Big Fish Games. Build-a-lot was Casual-Game-of-the-Week at killerbetties.com, who highlighted the simple but smooth and pleasing animation, sound effects and surprisingly fun micromanagement.

Sequel

A sequel to Build-a-lot was released in April 2008. It is called Build-a-lot: Town of the Year. According to reviews, it allows players to build parks and stores. It requires more micro-managing as players will not only build stores, but manage their inventories and appearance. It removes several elements of Build-a-lot gameplay and replace them with new elements. For example, waterfront properties are gone and replaced with a "curb appeal" feature.